| Management in the 21st century |
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Worldwide | 2008-10-11 Creating a Positive Professional Image  Bildquelle: aboutpixel.de As HBS professor Laura Morgan Roberts sees it, if you aren't managing your own professional image, others are. People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace.It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish.
There are plenty of books telling you how to "dress for success" and control your body language. But keeping on top of your personal traits is only part of the story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today's diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and cut your hair to improve your appearance, but how do you manage something like skin color? Roberts will present her research, called "Changing Faces: Professional Image Construction in Diverse Organizational Settings," in the October issue of the Academy of Management Review. In this presentation, she explains that a professional image is the set of qualities and characteristics that represent perceptions of one's competence and character as judged by key constituents (i.e., clients, superiors, subordinates, colleagues). It is important to distinguish between the image one wants others to have of him/her and the image that one thinks people currently have of him/her. Most people want to be described as technically competent, socially skilled, of strong character and integrity, and committed to your work, your team, and your company. Research shows that the most favorably regarded traits are trustworthiness, caring, humility, and capability. Everbody should ask oneself the question: What do I want my key constituents to say about me when I'm not in the room? This description is your desired professional image. Likewise, you might ask yourself the question: What am I concerned that my key constituents might say about me when I'm not in the room? The answer to this question represents your undesired professional image. No one can never know exactly what all of one's key constituents think about a person they work with, or how they would describe him/her when he/she is not in the room. A person can, however, draw inferences about his/her current professional image based on interactions with key constituents. People often give someone direct feedback about their persona that tells them what they think about their level of competence, character, and commitment. Other times, someone may receive indirect signals about his/her image, through job assignments or referrals and recommendations. Taken together, these direct and indirect signals shape one's perceived professional image, the best guess of how someone thinks his/her key constituents perceive him/her In the increasingly diverse, twenty-first century workplace, people face a number of complex challenges to creating a positive professional image. They often experience a significant incongruence between their desired professional image and their perceived professional image. In short, they are not perceived in the manner they desire; instead, their undesired professional image may be more closely aligned with how their key constituents actually perceive them. What lies at the source of this incongruence? Three types of identity threats—predicaments, devaluation, and illegitimacy—compromise key constituents' perceptions of technical competence, social competence, character, and commitment. All professionals will experience a "predicament" or event that reflects poorly on their competence, character, or commitment at some point in time, due to mistakes they have made in the past that have become public knowledge, or competency gaps (e.g., shortcomings or limitations in skill set or style). Members of negatively stereotyped identity groups may experience an additional form of identity threat known as "devaluation." Identity devaluation occurs when negative attributions about their social identity group(s) undermine key constituents' perceptions of one's competence, character, or commitment. For example, African American men are stereotyped as being less intelligent and more likely to engage in criminal behavior than Caucasian men. Asian Americans are stereotyped as technically competent, but lacking in the social skills required to lead effectively. Working mothers are stereotyped as being less committed to their profession and less loyal to their employing organizations. All of these stereotypes pose obstacles for creating a positive professional image. Members of negatively stereotyped identity groups may experience an additional form of identity threat known as "devaluation." Even positive stereotypes can pose a challenge for creating a positive professional image if someone is perceived as being unable to live up to favorable expectations of their social identity group(s). For example, clients may question the qualifications of a freshly minted MBA who is representing a prominent strategic consulting firm. Similarly, female medical students and residents are often mistaken for nurses or orderlies and challenged by patients who do not believe they are legitimate physicians. Despite the added complexity of managing stereotypes while also demonstrating competence, character, and commitment, there is promising news for creating a professional image. Impression management strategies enable to explain predicaments, counter devaluation, and demonstrate legitimacy. People manage impressions through their non-verbal behavior (appearance, demeanor), verbal cues (vocal pitch, tone, and rate of speech, grammar and diction, disclosures), and demonstrative acts (citizenship, job performance). The research suggests that, in addition to using these traditional impression management strategies, people also use social identity-based impression management (SIM) to create a positive professional image. SIM refers to the process of strategically presenting oneself in a manner that communicates the meaning and significance one associates with his/her social identities. There are two overarching SIM strategies: positive distinctiveness and social recategorization. Positive distinctiveness means using verbal and non-verbal cues to claim aspects of one's identity that are personally and/or socially valued, in an attempt to create a new, more positive meaning for that identity. Positive distinctiveness usually involves attempts to educate others about the positive qualities of one's identity group, advocate on behalf of members of one's identity group, and incorporate his/her background and identity-related experiences into one's workplace interactions and innovation. Social recategorization means using verbal and non-verbal cues to suppress other aspects of one's identity that are personally and/or socially devalued, in an attempt to distance oneself from negative stereotypes associated with that group. Social recategorization involves minimization and avoidance strategies, such as physically and mentally conforming to the dominant workplace culture while being careful not to draw attention to identity group differences and one's unique cultural background. Rather than adopting one strategy wholesale, most people use a variety of strategies for managing impressions of their social identities. In some situations, they choose to draw attention to a social identity, if they think it will benefit them personally or professionally. Even members of devalued social identity groups, such as African American professionals, will draw attention to their race if it creates mutual understanding with colleagues, generates high-quality connections with clients, or enhances their experience of authenticity and fulfillment in their work. In other situations, these same individuals may choose to minimize their race in order to draw attention to an alternate identity, such as gender, profession, or religion, if they feel their race inhibits their ability to connect with colleagues or clients. Successful impression management can generate a number of important personal and organizational benefits, including career advancement, client satisfaction, better work relationships (trust, intimacy, avoiding offense), group cohesiveness, a more pleasant organizational climate, and a more fulfilling work experience. However, when unsuccessfully employed, impression management attempts can lead to feelings of deception, delusion, preoccupation, distraction, futility, and manipulation. In order to create a positive professional image, impression management must effectively accomplish two tasks: build credibility and maintain authenticity. When someone presents him/herself in a manner that is both true to self and valued and believed by others, impression management can yield a host of favorable outcomes for a person, his/her team, and his/her organization. On the other hand, when someone presents him/herself in an inauthentic and non-credible manner, he/she is likely to undermine his/her health, relationships, and performance. Most people use a variety of strategies for managing impressions of their social identities. Most often, people attempt to build credibility and maintain authenticity simultaneously, but they must negotiate the tension that can arise between the two. One's "true self," or authentic self-portrayal, will not always be consistent with one's key constituents' expectations for professional competence and character. Building credibility can involve being who others want someone to be, gaining social approval and professional benefits, and leveraging one's strengths. When suppressing or contradicting one's personal values or identity characteristics for the sake of meeting societal expectations for professionalism, one might receive certain professional benefits, but one might compromise other psychological, relational, and organizational outcomes. The steps individuals should take to manage their professional image are that first of all, one must realize that if one isn't managing his/her own professional image, someone else is. People are constantly observing other people's behavior and forming theories about their competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout their workplace. It is only wise to add one's voice in framing others' theories about who someone is and what one can accomplish. Here are the most important leads for managing your own image Be the author of your own identity. Take a strategic, proactive approach to managing your image: Identify your ideal state. What are the core competencies and character traits you want people to associate with you? Which of your social identities do you want to emphasize and incorporate into your workplace interactions, and which would you rather minimize? Assess your current image, culture, and audience. What are the expectations for professionalism? How do others currently perceive you? Conduct a cost-benefit analysis for image change. Do you care about others' perceptions of you? Are you capable of changing your image? Are the benefits worth the costs? (Cognitive, psychological, emotional, physical effort) Use strategic self-presentation to manage impressions and change your image. Employ appropriate traditional and social identity-based impression management strategies. Pay attention to the balancing act—build credibility while maintaining authenticity. Manage the effort you invest in the process. Monitoring others' perceptions of you Monitoring your own behavior Strategic self-disclosure Preoccupation with proving worth and legitimacy
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